These are the original blog posts about our preparation for the Epic World Odyssey
Check out this video and see if you can memorise all the facts about the Netherlands! |
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Countdown: 100 Days Till Departure
27/02/2013
Wow......100 days till Rosa and I, along with the rest of the team, depart Christchurch for Melbourne.
It seems surreal now, with the countdown about to drop to two figures for the first time (or already has if you include the hours, minutes and seconds), to look back on the journey thus far.
I can still vividly recall, as if seeing it on a big screen at the movies, the moment last year when Rosa and I decided to see what it would take to get us The Netherlands to play Korfball.
Sitting on low wooden benches watching the rest of the squad prepare for the national championships, Rosa and I had the most casual conversation imaginable. "Should we?" Rosa asked. To which I responded "Yeah, why not". After each of us processing that moment for a few seconds with excited yet perplexed expressions, the decision was sealed with the crispest of high fives, a celebration that now is regularly pulled out when any conversation about our Odyssey arises.
That classically casual kiwi approach has been synonymous with our entire preparation so far. For whatever reason (and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that saying this doesn't jinx us) everything has just fallen into place so smoothly. Much of the credit for this must go to Milanne Buiten and her parents Nico and Lammita. The Buiten family recently visited Christchurch on their own New Zealand experience and through Korfball were welcomed to our recovering city. The family are integral members of top dutch club DOS '46 from Nijeveen. While in Christchurch Nico trained the local players and Milanne joined the excitement of our new Beach Korfball venue at Elmwood Bowling Club. During her time here, Milanne contacted DOS '46 and arranged for Rosa and I to join the club when we arrive. We are hugely privileged to be invited to such a famous and prestigious club for our dutch Korfball experience. Rosa and I are greatly indebted to Milanne for her continuing help in arranging this.
So now we stand with 100 days to go. It feels as if the days since that first high five have melted away faster than snow in the Sahara and no doubt the rate of melting will be doubled for these next 100 days. Both Rosa and I have grins bigger than a five year old with their birthday cake in front of them and our hearts are beating with adrenaline filled apprehension. We know that the few specks of the Dutch language we have mastered are just the beginning. Now comes the planning, the learning and the training to prepare for Coops & Lorenzo's Epic World Odyssey which will start with the Australian Club Korfball Championships in Melbourne June 8/9 2013.
It's going to be hard work but that sounds like fun to us!! Bring on the challenge..........oh and the seven weeks exploring South East Asia on the way WHOOP WHOOP!!!!
Lorenzo
27/02/2013
Wow......100 days till Rosa and I, along with the rest of the team, depart Christchurch for Melbourne.
It seems surreal now, with the countdown about to drop to two figures for the first time (or already has if you include the hours, minutes and seconds), to look back on the journey thus far.
I can still vividly recall, as if seeing it on a big screen at the movies, the moment last year when Rosa and I decided to see what it would take to get us The Netherlands to play Korfball.
Sitting on low wooden benches watching the rest of the squad prepare for the national championships, Rosa and I had the most casual conversation imaginable. "Should we?" Rosa asked. To which I responded "Yeah, why not". After each of us processing that moment for a few seconds with excited yet perplexed expressions, the decision was sealed with the crispest of high fives, a celebration that now is regularly pulled out when any conversation about our Odyssey arises.
That classically casual kiwi approach has been synonymous with our entire preparation so far. For whatever reason (and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that saying this doesn't jinx us) everything has just fallen into place so smoothly. Much of the credit for this must go to Milanne Buiten and her parents Nico and Lammita. The Buiten family recently visited Christchurch on their own New Zealand experience and through Korfball were welcomed to our recovering city. The family are integral members of top dutch club DOS '46 from Nijeveen. While in Christchurch Nico trained the local players and Milanne joined the excitement of our new Beach Korfball venue at Elmwood Bowling Club. During her time here, Milanne contacted DOS '46 and arranged for Rosa and I to join the club when we arrive. We are hugely privileged to be invited to such a famous and prestigious club for our dutch Korfball experience. Rosa and I are greatly indebted to Milanne for her continuing help in arranging this.
So now we stand with 100 days to go. It feels as if the days since that first high five have melted away faster than snow in the Sahara and no doubt the rate of melting will be doubled for these next 100 days. Both Rosa and I have grins bigger than a five year old with their birthday cake in front of them and our hearts are beating with adrenaline filled apprehension. We know that the few specks of the Dutch language we have mastered are just the beginning. Now comes the planning, the learning and the training to prepare for Coops & Lorenzo's Epic World Odyssey which will start with the Australian Club Korfball Championships in Melbourne June 8/9 2013.
It's going to be hard work but that sounds like fun to us!! Bring on the challenge..........oh and the seven weeks exploring South East Asia on the way WHOOP WHOOP!!!!
Lorenzo
Dutch 101: Culture & Language Initiation
09/03/2013
Less than three months till departure day and our minds are exploding with the thoughts of everything that must be completed in the next 90 days! Training, planning the adventure (visas, tickets, passports, where we are going!) and not to mention all the loose ends to pull together here in Christchurch. However, in the forefront of our minds is learning some dutch lingo and a bit about the culture to limit our ignorance when we arrive.
Fortunately, to aid us in this quest for knowledge, the Buiten family from DOS '46 recently spent some time in Christchurch. Milanne patiently taught us the first dutch gem "Hagelslag". Hagelslag is quite the dutch delicacy, a breakfast staple eaten on bread. For those kiwis craving end of Marmageddon and a return to Marmite on toast for breakfast (if you haven't tried it with avocado you are missing out), Hagelslag has the same role in dutch cuisine. What is this delectable treat?Hagelslag is Dutch Chocolate Sprinkles! One of the foods that dutch people will get homesick over when traveling the world. No doubt while Rosa and I are in Nijeveen we will be eagerly awaiting our deliveries of pineapple lumps, chocolate fish, marmite and other New Zealand classics (hint hint - care packages will be welcomed!).
Tash, part of our local Korfball family, spent some time in The Netherlands last year as an au pair and is from a family with dutch lineage. Being the bright spark that she is, Tash suggested that we start having regular dutch nights as a way to learn the language and most importantly, indulge in dutch food.
Now I'm not going to lie, the ingestion of dutch beer and chocolate is getting me just a little bit excited! With Belgium, Germany and Switzerland at our doorstep for weekend adventures, gastronomic satisfaction is guaranteed. Just as well we will be training hard and cycling everywhere to work off those tasty calories.
Tash's family really got into the spirit on Dutch Night Een. Rosa and I arrived to be greeted by clog slippers, an array of orange and the not so peaceful ambience of accordion music. On the menu was stamppot, a traditional meal consisting of rookworst (Dutch sausage) served with hutspot (mashed potatoes, carrots and onions). The hutspot had a pool of oily fried bacon delicately dug into the top. Not the kind of meal for the health conscious but certainly one with grunt, flavour and most definitely very filling. Check out our photo gallery for a few images.
The bonus was some top notch home brew beer to sooth the palate.
Sticking to the dutch tradition, desert was a mouthwatering stack of pancakes with jam and fresh whipped cream. Rounding off the night was some cheese, dutch cookies, dutch lollies and more of that tasty home brew. Apparently the average dutch family will polish off a kilogram of cheese per week!
Needless to say waddling in clogs is quite a challenge but this is a skill that may need to mastered if we keep indulging like this.
After all the food excitement, learning some of the language took a back seat. We were lucky enough to have Tash's cousin to translate the latest DOS '46 newsletter which featured an article written by kiwi korf god Rob Smith and another article from Milanne about her experiences in the South Island including her rugby introduction at the Wellington Sevens. As a result of this translation I can tell you that the dutch word for unicycle is eenwielers. Check out page 28 of the newsletter:
http://dos46.nl/doc/Dossertje%2004%20februari%202013%20web.pdf. That story will make sense if you know about my favourite description of what Korfball is - "Quidditch on unicycles".
Time to prepare for another training session. If anyone has any suggestions of more dutch cuisine to sample, language to learn or advice on the best adventures in Europe or South East Asia, please let us know!
Lorenzo
09/03/2013
Less than three months till departure day and our minds are exploding with the thoughts of everything that must be completed in the next 90 days! Training, planning the adventure (visas, tickets, passports, where we are going!) and not to mention all the loose ends to pull together here in Christchurch. However, in the forefront of our minds is learning some dutch lingo and a bit about the culture to limit our ignorance when we arrive.
Fortunately, to aid us in this quest for knowledge, the Buiten family from DOS '46 recently spent some time in Christchurch. Milanne patiently taught us the first dutch gem "Hagelslag". Hagelslag is quite the dutch delicacy, a breakfast staple eaten on bread. For those kiwis craving end of Marmageddon and a return to Marmite on toast for breakfast (if you haven't tried it with avocado you are missing out), Hagelslag has the same role in dutch cuisine. What is this delectable treat?Hagelslag is Dutch Chocolate Sprinkles! One of the foods that dutch people will get homesick over when traveling the world. No doubt while Rosa and I are in Nijeveen we will be eagerly awaiting our deliveries of pineapple lumps, chocolate fish, marmite and other New Zealand classics (hint hint - care packages will be welcomed!).
Tash, part of our local Korfball family, spent some time in The Netherlands last year as an au pair and is from a family with dutch lineage. Being the bright spark that she is, Tash suggested that we start having regular dutch nights as a way to learn the language and most importantly, indulge in dutch food.
Now I'm not going to lie, the ingestion of dutch beer and chocolate is getting me just a little bit excited! With Belgium, Germany and Switzerland at our doorstep for weekend adventures, gastronomic satisfaction is guaranteed. Just as well we will be training hard and cycling everywhere to work off those tasty calories.
Tash's family really got into the spirit on Dutch Night Een. Rosa and I arrived to be greeted by clog slippers, an array of orange and the not so peaceful ambience of accordion music. On the menu was stamppot, a traditional meal consisting of rookworst (Dutch sausage) served with hutspot (mashed potatoes, carrots and onions). The hutspot had a pool of oily fried bacon delicately dug into the top. Not the kind of meal for the health conscious but certainly one with grunt, flavour and most definitely very filling. Check out our photo gallery for a few images.
The bonus was some top notch home brew beer to sooth the palate.
Sticking to the dutch tradition, desert was a mouthwatering stack of pancakes with jam and fresh whipped cream. Rounding off the night was some cheese, dutch cookies, dutch lollies and more of that tasty home brew. Apparently the average dutch family will polish off a kilogram of cheese per week!
Needless to say waddling in clogs is quite a challenge but this is a skill that may need to mastered if we keep indulging like this.
After all the food excitement, learning some of the language took a back seat. We were lucky enough to have Tash's cousin to translate the latest DOS '46 newsletter which featured an article written by kiwi korf god Rob Smith and another article from Milanne about her experiences in the South Island including her rugby introduction at the Wellington Sevens. As a result of this translation I can tell you that the dutch word for unicycle is eenwielers. Check out page 28 of the newsletter:
http://dos46.nl/doc/Dossertje%2004%20februari%202013%20web.pdf. That story will make sense if you know about my favourite description of what Korfball is - "Quidditch on unicycles".
Time to prepare for another training session. If anyone has any suggestions of more dutch cuisine to sample, language to learn or advice on the best adventures in Europe or South East Asia, please let us know!
Lorenzo
Lists, Jabs and Hagelslag
07/04/2013
Wow......where did that last month go??!! As Autumn's full effect of chilly temperatures and short days takes hold in Christchurch, it is now two months exactly till the day we depart New Zealand.
Rosa and I have both been so busy with work that preparations for our journey have been limited severely. However, I guess that earning enough moolah to fund our adventures is a rather key part of the build up.
We have been closely following the progress of DOS '46 (the Dutch Korfball club we are excited and privileged to join) as the end of the Dutch season arrives. We have also seen Milanne's arrival back in Nijeveen after her own journey around the world. After being lucky enough to meet her and her family in Christchurch, Rosa and I are excited to be reacquainted with Milanne when we arrive in The Netherlands on July 30!
Adding even more international spice to the melting pot of cultures we are exposing ourselves to has been the arrival of self-proclaimed Korfball addict Inge Bekaert from Belgium. Inge has been a top player and coach in Belgium for more years than Korfball has been in New Zealand! Inge is traveling around the South Island and has kindly offered her experience as our Canterbury teams prepare for the Melbourne tournament.
On to the lists and what seems like a mind-numbing amount of tasks that need to be completed in the next 61 days. If you are a list maker one of the best bits of advice I have heard is to make the first item on the list as 'Make a list', then you can check something off straight away which will reinforce the rewarding feeling of crossing something off your list. Try it, you'll be surprised.
Prior to Leaving:
- Plan the trip Partly Done
- Travel Insurance
- Vaccinations In Progress
- Money/Credit Cards
- Passports Sorted
- Visa Applications
- Make a packing list Partly Done
- Make sure we own bags to pack Tick
- Plan a LEAVING PARTY!!!!
No doubt this will be the first list of many. What else do we need to do before we go? Let us know if anyone has a gems of items to pack or any other travel tips!
Yesterday was also time for the first set of vaccinations for the trip, specifically the South East Asia exploration. Hepatitis A, typhoid, tetanus boosters, and rabies inoculations all on the list (and an expensive list it is!). Not to mention the anti-malarial pills and other medications. Lets be honest, if you took everything that was recommended you couldn't afford to go and would be packing a giant first aid kit in your bag and nothing else! There has also been plenty of quality reading material on mosquitos, muggings and diarrhoea (of which the verbal kind you may have to get used to with my ramblings).
And finally to continue our Dutch education we have discovered a Dutch cafe and deli in Christchurch selling cheeses, bitterballen, stroopwafels, dutch cookies, dutch candy, Roosvicee and of course Hagelslag. Chocolate hail on bread for breakfast, why not!!!!
PS - who knew Pak N Save had a small dutch food section as well.
On we continue with training, making more lists, anticipating more jabs in the arm (thankfully not bum) and eating more dutch goodies in preparation for our journey of Korfball awesomeness, fun, adventure and self reflection.
Cool Runnings.........peace be the journey!
Lorenzo
07/04/2013
Wow......where did that last month go??!! As Autumn's full effect of chilly temperatures and short days takes hold in Christchurch, it is now two months exactly till the day we depart New Zealand.
Rosa and I have both been so busy with work that preparations for our journey have been limited severely. However, I guess that earning enough moolah to fund our adventures is a rather key part of the build up.
We have been closely following the progress of DOS '46 (the Dutch Korfball club we are excited and privileged to join) as the end of the Dutch season arrives. We have also seen Milanne's arrival back in Nijeveen after her own journey around the world. After being lucky enough to meet her and her family in Christchurch, Rosa and I are excited to be reacquainted with Milanne when we arrive in The Netherlands on July 30!
Adding even more international spice to the melting pot of cultures we are exposing ourselves to has been the arrival of self-proclaimed Korfball addict Inge Bekaert from Belgium. Inge has been a top player and coach in Belgium for more years than Korfball has been in New Zealand! Inge is traveling around the South Island and has kindly offered her experience as our Canterbury teams prepare for the Melbourne tournament.
On to the lists and what seems like a mind-numbing amount of tasks that need to be completed in the next 61 days. If you are a list maker one of the best bits of advice I have heard is to make the first item on the list as 'Make a list', then you can check something off straight away which will reinforce the rewarding feeling of crossing something off your list. Try it, you'll be surprised.
Prior to Leaving:
- Plan the trip Partly Done
- Travel Insurance
- Vaccinations In Progress
- Money/Credit Cards
- Passports Sorted
- Visa Applications
- Make a packing list Partly Done
- Make sure we own bags to pack Tick
- Plan a LEAVING PARTY!!!!
No doubt this will be the first list of many. What else do we need to do before we go? Let us know if anyone has a gems of items to pack or any other travel tips!
Yesterday was also time for the first set of vaccinations for the trip, specifically the South East Asia exploration. Hepatitis A, typhoid, tetanus boosters, and rabies inoculations all on the list (and an expensive list it is!). Not to mention the anti-malarial pills and other medications. Lets be honest, if you took everything that was recommended you couldn't afford to go and would be packing a giant first aid kit in your bag and nothing else! There has also been plenty of quality reading material on mosquitos, muggings and diarrhoea (of which the verbal kind you may have to get used to with my ramblings).
And finally to continue our Dutch education we have discovered a Dutch cafe and deli in Christchurch selling cheeses, bitterballen, stroopwafels, dutch cookies, dutch candy, Roosvicee and of course Hagelslag. Chocolate hail on bread for breakfast, why not!!!!
PS - who knew Pak N Save had a small dutch food section as well.
On we continue with training, making more lists, anticipating more jabs in the arm (thankfully not bum) and eating more dutch goodies in preparation for our journey of Korfball awesomeness, fun, adventure and self reflection.
Cool Runnings.........peace be the journey!
Lorenzo
More Jabs, More Lists & Some Double Dutch
14/04/2013
Look at those numbers, they are counting down faster than The Count counting Cookie Monsters disappearing cookies!
Both Rosa and I are getting that excited, nervous, heart pounding, empty stomach feeling any time we remember just how little time we have before we leave. You know that feeling, I'm sure you've felt it before when you are anticipating an upcoming new experience. As you get older those new experiences become less frequent but you are more aware about how important it is to cherish those fleeting moments.
Today was a refreshing oasis away from our usually manic lives. After Korfball training it was time for immunisations round two. Paying someone a decent amount of money to cause you pain, not the most satisfying experience of our lives but better that than rabies! Fortunately it was a busy day at the clinic and the waiting time gave us the opportunity to talk more about the trip. Seven and a half weeks in SE Asia means there is plenty to talk about!
Ideas so far (yeah another list):
- One Night in Bangkok (or more, but that's the cliche)
- Cuddling some putty tats aka Tigers
- The Bridge over the River Kwai (movie included)
- Learning how to be a mahout (elephant rider)
- Becoming experts in Thai massage and cooking
- Getting lots of massages and eating all the food
- Fish foot/full body baths
- Visiting Angkor Wat
- Perfecting the art of lying in a hammock/on a beach
- Climbing Mt Kinabalu
- Making friends with orang utans and turtles
- Watching a million bats leave a cave at dusk
- Getting lost in big cities
- Learning to dive
- FULL MOON PARTY
- Exploring markets
and generally partying up a storm of awesomeness!
After being stung, in both the arm and the pocket it was off down to Van Dam's Dutch Cafe and Deli for lunch. On the menu was the Double Dutch (a mixed platter of classic dutch tasty treats) with a Dutch Latte served with a stroopwafle. For those of you who have never treated your taste buds, here's some simple descriptions:
Kroket: A small fried roll filled with mashed potatoes and ground meat.
Rookworst: Dutch sausage
Stroopwafles: Waffle with a honey/syrup filling
Dutch Latte: Served with aniseed
Neither Coops or I were convinced that aniseed was the best addition to coffee we have ever had but the dutch cheese with cumin seeds was a definite post lunch winner.
As I'm sure will happen many times in our upcoming travels, the conversation turned to dealing with challenges and how to solve the worlds problems one person at a time. I'm looking forward to these conversations, probably while lying in a hammock, as much as any of the adventures listed above.
After lunch we learned that our club DOS '46 narrowly missed out on promotion back into the Korfball League, the premier Korfball competition in the world limited to the top eight dutch club teams. However, the top DOS youth side has made the final and will compete to be crowned the top youth team in The Netherlands!! We are honoured to be associated with a club that has such heart and passion. No doubt pulling on the red and black of DOS for the first time will be another one of those new experiences to savior for Coops and I.
An Epic World Odyssey awaits full of epic adventures and epic personal discovery. Find those moments in every day that make you smile and challenge yourself to help others find them too.
Lorenzo
14/04/2013
Look at those numbers, they are counting down faster than The Count counting Cookie Monsters disappearing cookies!
Both Rosa and I are getting that excited, nervous, heart pounding, empty stomach feeling any time we remember just how little time we have before we leave. You know that feeling, I'm sure you've felt it before when you are anticipating an upcoming new experience. As you get older those new experiences become less frequent but you are more aware about how important it is to cherish those fleeting moments.
Today was a refreshing oasis away from our usually manic lives. After Korfball training it was time for immunisations round two. Paying someone a decent amount of money to cause you pain, not the most satisfying experience of our lives but better that than rabies! Fortunately it was a busy day at the clinic and the waiting time gave us the opportunity to talk more about the trip. Seven and a half weeks in SE Asia means there is plenty to talk about!
Ideas so far (yeah another list):
- One Night in Bangkok (or more, but that's the cliche)
- Cuddling some putty tats aka Tigers
- The Bridge over the River Kwai (movie included)
- Learning how to be a mahout (elephant rider)
- Becoming experts in Thai massage and cooking
- Getting lots of massages and eating all the food
- Fish foot/full body baths
- Visiting Angkor Wat
- Perfecting the art of lying in a hammock/on a beach
- Climbing Mt Kinabalu
- Making friends with orang utans and turtles
- Watching a million bats leave a cave at dusk
- Getting lost in big cities
- Learning to dive
- FULL MOON PARTY
- Exploring markets
and generally partying up a storm of awesomeness!
After being stung, in both the arm and the pocket it was off down to Van Dam's Dutch Cafe and Deli for lunch. On the menu was the Double Dutch (a mixed platter of classic dutch tasty treats) with a Dutch Latte served with a stroopwafle. For those of you who have never treated your taste buds, here's some simple descriptions:
Kroket: A small fried roll filled with mashed potatoes and ground meat.
Rookworst: Dutch sausage
Stroopwafles: Waffle with a honey/syrup filling
Dutch Latte: Served with aniseed
Neither Coops or I were convinced that aniseed was the best addition to coffee we have ever had but the dutch cheese with cumin seeds was a definite post lunch winner.
As I'm sure will happen many times in our upcoming travels, the conversation turned to dealing with challenges and how to solve the worlds problems one person at a time. I'm looking forward to these conversations, probably while lying in a hammock, as much as any of the adventures listed above.
After lunch we learned that our club DOS '46 narrowly missed out on promotion back into the Korfball League, the premier Korfball competition in the world limited to the top eight dutch club teams. However, the top DOS youth side has made the final and will compete to be crowned the top youth team in The Netherlands!! We are honoured to be associated with a club that has such heart and passion. No doubt pulling on the red and black of DOS for the first time will be another one of those new experiences to savior for Coops and I.
An Epic World Odyssey awaits full of epic adventures and epic personal discovery. Find those moments in every day that make you smile and challenge yourself to help others find them too.
Lorenzo
Shiiiiiiiiiiiet!!!! The Visas Have Arrived!
12/05/2013
For those of you who know Grahame and Doreen Felton, you will know that they and their teachings are permanently entwined in the hearts and minds of Rosa and I. Korfballers will know that G & D do not like using words such a tired or nerves. However my mental thesaurus is unable to come up with a term better than 'exponentially expanding nervous excitement' to describe our internal feelings right now. Sorry G & D, the apprehension and nerves are certainly hiding there under the excitement!
Last night Rosa and I bid farewell to Alisha Muir, a member of our Korf Family, who is heading to the UK for her big OE. We had a special evening where Alisha was surrounded by her family, friends and enough cake to build a new cathedral in Christchurch (at least it won't cost $4m like the cardboard one!). The goodbyes were tough, the tears and smiles from our departing Korf sister were very real. The realisation that Rosa and I have less than four weeks till our departure and many emotion-filled farewells to endure became very clear. Alisha is a trusted friend, somebody everyone loves and we trust that Alisha will have an amazing life-changing journey of her own! Alisha, we can't wait to team up again for more adventures in Europe, bring on Oktoberfest!
Our lists are getting shorter and more items are being ticked off:
Prior to Leaving:
- Plan the trip Done - well what needs to be
- Travel Insurance Done
- Vaccinations Done - more pricks than .........
- Money/Credit Cards Partly Done
- Passports Done
- Visa Applications Done
- Make a packing list Done
- Make sure we own bags to pack Done
- Plan a LEAVING PARTY!!!! Done - May 25th, Be There!
(Emotional farewell compulsory)
Unfortunately since the last update out Dutch education has stalled. The Netherlands has a new king and I have been continuing to delve into the Hagelslag and Roosvicee. The latter as part of a dutch desert consisting of half custard, half yoghurt and Roosvicee down the middle. If someone out there can tell me the name of this desert then please let me know!
Rosa was rather excited to discover there is a supermarket in The Netherlands called 'Coop'!! Another nice piece of news is that Coops' man Cam will be joining the journey once we are settled in The Netherlands!
Also somewhere between this post and More Jabs, More Lists & Some Double Dutch, the Korfball League finals were played at AHOY, probably the biggest event on the Korfball calender. DOS '46 were playing in the A1 (youth) final but unfortunately they could not take the title back to Nijeveen this year. The main final between PKC and Fortuna was streamed live on YouTube (check out the highlights video below). Yes, as crazy as it was to get up at 4.30am to watch this live it was definitely worth it!
With the first aid kit complete, eReader loaded with books and the next dutch night planned, it almost feels like the last thing to do is pack our bags, walk onto the vliegtuig (plane) and begin this Odyssey. Pity it's not that simple, there are many loose ends to seal before departure day, time to spend with those who are special to us and most likely many, many emotional farewells to enjoy over the next 26 days.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiet, it's only 26 days to go!
Lorenzo
12/05/2013
For those of you who know Grahame and Doreen Felton, you will know that they and their teachings are permanently entwined in the hearts and minds of Rosa and I. Korfballers will know that G & D do not like using words such a tired or nerves. However my mental thesaurus is unable to come up with a term better than 'exponentially expanding nervous excitement' to describe our internal feelings right now. Sorry G & D, the apprehension and nerves are certainly hiding there under the excitement!
Last night Rosa and I bid farewell to Alisha Muir, a member of our Korf Family, who is heading to the UK for her big OE. We had a special evening where Alisha was surrounded by her family, friends and enough cake to build a new cathedral in Christchurch (at least it won't cost $4m like the cardboard one!). The goodbyes were tough, the tears and smiles from our departing Korf sister were very real. The realisation that Rosa and I have less than four weeks till our departure and many emotion-filled farewells to endure became very clear. Alisha is a trusted friend, somebody everyone loves and we trust that Alisha will have an amazing life-changing journey of her own! Alisha, we can't wait to team up again for more adventures in Europe, bring on Oktoberfest!
Our lists are getting shorter and more items are being ticked off:
Prior to Leaving:
- Plan the trip Done - well what needs to be
- Travel Insurance Done
- Vaccinations Done - more pricks than .........
- Money/Credit Cards Partly Done
- Passports Done
- Visa Applications Done
- Make a packing list Done
- Make sure we own bags to pack Done
- Plan a LEAVING PARTY!!!! Done - May 25th, Be There!
(Emotional farewell compulsory)
Unfortunately since the last update out Dutch education has stalled. The Netherlands has a new king and I have been continuing to delve into the Hagelslag and Roosvicee. The latter as part of a dutch desert consisting of half custard, half yoghurt and Roosvicee down the middle. If someone out there can tell me the name of this desert then please let me know!
Rosa was rather excited to discover there is a supermarket in The Netherlands called 'Coop'!! Another nice piece of news is that Coops' man Cam will be joining the journey once we are settled in The Netherlands!
Also somewhere between this post and More Jabs, More Lists & Some Double Dutch, the Korfball League finals were played at AHOY, probably the biggest event on the Korfball calender. DOS '46 were playing in the A1 (youth) final but unfortunately they could not take the title back to Nijeveen this year. The main final between PKC and Fortuna was streamed live on YouTube (check out the highlights video below). Yes, as crazy as it was to get up at 4.30am to watch this live it was definitely worth it!
With the first aid kit complete, eReader loaded with books and the next dutch night planned, it almost feels like the last thing to do is pack our bags, walk onto the vliegtuig (plane) and begin this Odyssey. Pity it's not that simple, there are many loose ends to seal before departure day, time to spend with those who are special to us and most likely many, many emotional farewells to enjoy over the next 26 days.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiet, it's only 26 days to go!
Lorenzo
I decided to finally grace you with my presence...
17/05/2013
Well hello there everyone!
We're now three weeks out from taking off to begin our world odyssey! My how time has flown since we made the decision eight months ago to go forth on this venture. So much has happened in that time and there is still so much to do over the next three weeks before we depart.
When anyone asks me about the trip they ask "are you excited?". Of course I'm excited - it's going to be one hell of an adventure! I guess at the moment my excitement isn't the first emotion that pops up though. There are so many emotions and feelings floating around when I think about this trip - excitement, nervousness, apprehension, stress, the feeling of being unsure about the unknown and many more. It may sound at times like I am not looking forward to it as much as I should be but really I am, it's just hard to show that with the pressure of trying to continue my busy day-to-day routine as well as trying to find the time to fit in packing and sorting out my ridiculous amount of stuff.
I never knew I had so much stuff! I know I'm a bit of a hoarder, but far out, I have way more junk than I ever thought. How did I even accumulate this much crap without realising? Where did I keep it all? No wonder my bedroom and car was always such a mess... This world odyssey has given me a good reason to have a serious clean out. Over the past week or so I have been starting to sort through all my belongings and trying to decide what I am going to take away with me, what I am going to keep but store at home, and what I am going to get rid of. Then with the stuff I am getting rid of I have to decide what I am going to try to sell and what I am going to give away. With everything I have sorted through so far I think I have decided I am getting rid of about 60% of it. The photo to the left shows just SOME of the clothes that I have decided to let go... 60% really doesn't sound like enough considering how much crap I have, but to be honest that is amazing for me - I'm one of those people that thinks "Oh, I haven't used that in a while, but I might use it again..." and "But what if I get ride of it and then one day I really need it, I'll be gutted that I got rid of it" - well it's time for that to change, I'm biting the bullet and getting rid of a whole lot of stuff! My sister spent the day helping me on Monday - we got through quite a lot and it was super helpful having her here to help me with my discipline and put the hard word on me to get rid of certain things (things that I probably would have tried to keep and store if she wasn't here to tell me I don't need it). The next step is advertising things on TradeMe that I want to sell and giving stuff away to friends and the op shop. It's been a pretty big job (and still is a pretty big job)!
Things are starting to all fall in to place now - I feel like Bevan and I are pretty well organised and have ticked most things off our list that we needed to organise before we leave. Our VISA's arrived back a little more than a week after applying for them - it was all hassle free and there was no stress around it (like there potentially could have been) so that was fantastic. It's exciting to have my VISA in my hot little hands to be able to look at it and think "wow, this is really happening"! Sometimes though I still don't feel like it's real. It sort of feels like we're just off to Melbourne for a Korfball tournament but then I remember that following that Bevan and I will be getting on a plane to fly to Bangkok. I don't think the real excitement and reality of it will hit until we get on the plane to Bangkok - bring it on!
Bevan has already told you that my partner, Cam, will be coming over for a seven month stint with us in the Netherlands. Cam has had seven months leave approved from work so he will join us early September (once we are all set up) and leave us again to come home at the beginning of April next year (leaving Bevan and I to sort everything out and tie up all the loose ends before we come home too) - Cam has it pretty well sorted if you ask me. I must say I'm quite excited that Cam is now coming over for seven months, it would have been tough going if his leave didn't get approved. I was so happy when he told me his leave had been approved - I couldn't wait to tell everyone!
The next three weeks are going to fly by! Bevan and I have our leaving party next Saturday night. It will be good to catch up with everyone that comes along but I'm not looking forward to the tearful goodbyes which I'm sure will sneak up on me. It's so hard leaving behind the people you love and care about but sometimes you have to put yourself first and take the next step forward on your journey of life. We're lucky now-a-days with modern technology - there's always Skype (I know it's not quite the same as seeing people in person but it's better than nothing). I'm not excited about leaving behind the people here but I am excited about meeting new people and growing myself as a person through my world experiences!
Well, I think that will do for my first blog entry - it's getting rather long... There's no time to be on here writing all day. I have to use every minute I've got so I can get everything done before I leave in three weeks... Eeeeek!
Signing off....
Coops
17/05/2013
Well hello there everyone!
We're now three weeks out from taking off to begin our world odyssey! My how time has flown since we made the decision eight months ago to go forth on this venture. So much has happened in that time and there is still so much to do over the next three weeks before we depart.
When anyone asks me about the trip they ask "are you excited?". Of course I'm excited - it's going to be one hell of an adventure! I guess at the moment my excitement isn't the first emotion that pops up though. There are so many emotions and feelings floating around when I think about this trip - excitement, nervousness, apprehension, stress, the feeling of being unsure about the unknown and many more. It may sound at times like I am not looking forward to it as much as I should be but really I am, it's just hard to show that with the pressure of trying to continue my busy day-to-day routine as well as trying to find the time to fit in packing and sorting out my ridiculous amount of stuff.
I never knew I had so much stuff! I know I'm a bit of a hoarder, but far out, I have way more junk than I ever thought. How did I even accumulate this much crap without realising? Where did I keep it all? No wonder my bedroom and car was always such a mess... This world odyssey has given me a good reason to have a serious clean out. Over the past week or so I have been starting to sort through all my belongings and trying to decide what I am going to take away with me, what I am going to keep but store at home, and what I am going to get rid of. Then with the stuff I am getting rid of I have to decide what I am going to try to sell and what I am going to give away. With everything I have sorted through so far I think I have decided I am getting rid of about 60% of it. The photo to the left shows just SOME of the clothes that I have decided to let go... 60% really doesn't sound like enough considering how much crap I have, but to be honest that is amazing for me - I'm one of those people that thinks "Oh, I haven't used that in a while, but I might use it again..." and "But what if I get ride of it and then one day I really need it, I'll be gutted that I got rid of it" - well it's time for that to change, I'm biting the bullet and getting rid of a whole lot of stuff! My sister spent the day helping me on Monday - we got through quite a lot and it was super helpful having her here to help me with my discipline and put the hard word on me to get rid of certain things (things that I probably would have tried to keep and store if she wasn't here to tell me I don't need it). The next step is advertising things on TradeMe that I want to sell and giving stuff away to friends and the op shop. It's been a pretty big job (and still is a pretty big job)!
Things are starting to all fall in to place now - I feel like Bevan and I are pretty well organised and have ticked most things off our list that we needed to organise before we leave. Our VISA's arrived back a little more than a week after applying for them - it was all hassle free and there was no stress around it (like there potentially could have been) so that was fantastic. It's exciting to have my VISA in my hot little hands to be able to look at it and think "wow, this is really happening"! Sometimes though I still don't feel like it's real. It sort of feels like we're just off to Melbourne for a Korfball tournament but then I remember that following that Bevan and I will be getting on a plane to fly to Bangkok. I don't think the real excitement and reality of it will hit until we get on the plane to Bangkok - bring it on!
Bevan has already told you that my partner, Cam, will be coming over for a seven month stint with us in the Netherlands. Cam has had seven months leave approved from work so he will join us early September (once we are all set up) and leave us again to come home at the beginning of April next year (leaving Bevan and I to sort everything out and tie up all the loose ends before we come home too) - Cam has it pretty well sorted if you ask me. I must say I'm quite excited that Cam is now coming over for seven months, it would have been tough going if his leave didn't get approved. I was so happy when he told me his leave had been approved - I couldn't wait to tell everyone!
The next three weeks are going to fly by! Bevan and I have our leaving party next Saturday night. It will be good to catch up with everyone that comes along but I'm not looking forward to the tearful goodbyes which I'm sure will sneak up on me. It's so hard leaving behind the people you love and care about but sometimes you have to put yourself first and take the next step forward on your journey of life. We're lucky now-a-days with modern technology - there's always Skype (I know it's not quite the same as seeing people in person but it's better than nothing). I'm not excited about leaving behind the people here but I am excited about meeting new people and growing myself as a person through my world experiences!
Well, I think that will do for my first blog entry - it's getting rather long... There's no time to be on here writing all day. I have to use every minute I've got so I can get everything done before I leave in three weeks... Eeeeek!
Signing off....
Coops
Dutch 102: Every Day I'm Sjoelen(ing)
12/06/2013
Sorry this is such a delayed post but Coops and I have been so busy with our final travel preparations that we didn’t have time to let you all know just how those preparations were going.
We thought it was about time for another Dutch cultural hit and one of our local Korfball families in Christchurch was up for the challenge. The Van Bruchem family (yes, they are Dutch) have been present in Canterbury Korfball for many years and were certainly heavily involved when I was introduced to the game in 2006.
The Van Bruchem home is right on the edge of the red zone in Christchurch (for those of you outside of NZ, this is the area of land in Christchurch that has been deemed unsafe to build on ever again following our earthquakes) and the reality of the damage in the area reminded us about the devastation that is still present in our city even though many of us have become a bit desensitised to it.
We didn’t know what to expect as we arrived at their house, knowing only that some Dutch games may be on the cards. As we walked in Rosa was given the traditional Dutch female hat and I got leyed in orange of course!
For those of you who don’t know much about Dutch history, here are a couple of quick bits of information and one slightly mind boggling video to get your head around. The Dutch are travelers and explorers who created a wide-ranging group of colonies centuries ago. Most kiwi’s and aussie’s will know the Tasman sea is named after a Dutchman; that Zeeland is a Dutch province and this is why we live in New Zealand; that Tasmania was Van Diemens Land; and Australia was New Holland. Now for the fun part – watch the video below. This will explain the Netherlands, Holland, Dutch and how to use all these terms correctly.
One of the Dutch colonies was Indonesia. I am told that the Netherlands is the best place in the world outside Indonesia to experience the Indonesian food. Whoever said that had not counted the Van Bruchem kitchen in that equation. Ewout whipped up and Indonesian feast to fill our stomachs. We were presented with nasi goring (an Indonesian rice dish) served with kebabs, peanut sauce, a fried egg and other condiments. Let’s not forget the Dutch cups and serviettes as well.
Following dinner, despite feeling like a beached whale (“I’m beached as bro” if you know the video), the table was cleared for our Dutch education to continue. Sjoelen is a traditional Dutch shuffle board game where you given 30 small wooden discs to try and shoot through openings at the other end of the board. Each opening is worth between one and four points, however if you are able to get one disc in each opening the points are doubled i.e. 1+2+3+4=10 x2=20. If you get two in each you’ll score 40 points. What tends to happen is that the discs will stack up in front of the openings and you try to hit them through using other discs. If one disc ends up on top of another you get that one back to use again.
In the battle of novice vs. experience the fast learning kiwis were able to jointly take the highest score of 80 after some less than impressive scores in earlier rounds!
The round off the night, I’m sure this was partially for the entertainment of the hosts, we were asked to read a page each from a children’s book. Sounds simple until you realise the books are written in Dutch. The tongue-twisted Coops and I fumbled over the Dutch language as the book was passed around the table, with the Dutch speakers also translating each page into English.
Dutch education complete for what we could squeeze in prior to departure. All that was left was to pack our bags, say many goodbyes and Sjoelen our way towards the unknown of our Odyssey.
Lorenzo
12/06/2013
Sorry this is such a delayed post but Coops and I have been so busy with our final travel preparations that we didn’t have time to let you all know just how those preparations were going.
We thought it was about time for another Dutch cultural hit and one of our local Korfball families in Christchurch was up for the challenge. The Van Bruchem family (yes, they are Dutch) have been present in Canterbury Korfball for many years and were certainly heavily involved when I was introduced to the game in 2006.
The Van Bruchem home is right on the edge of the red zone in Christchurch (for those of you outside of NZ, this is the area of land in Christchurch that has been deemed unsafe to build on ever again following our earthquakes) and the reality of the damage in the area reminded us about the devastation that is still present in our city even though many of us have become a bit desensitised to it.
We didn’t know what to expect as we arrived at their house, knowing only that some Dutch games may be on the cards. As we walked in Rosa was given the traditional Dutch female hat and I got leyed in orange of course!
For those of you who don’t know much about Dutch history, here are a couple of quick bits of information and one slightly mind boggling video to get your head around. The Dutch are travelers and explorers who created a wide-ranging group of colonies centuries ago. Most kiwi’s and aussie’s will know the Tasman sea is named after a Dutchman; that Zeeland is a Dutch province and this is why we live in New Zealand; that Tasmania was Van Diemens Land; and Australia was New Holland. Now for the fun part – watch the video below. This will explain the Netherlands, Holland, Dutch and how to use all these terms correctly.
One of the Dutch colonies was Indonesia. I am told that the Netherlands is the best place in the world outside Indonesia to experience the Indonesian food. Whoever said that had not counted the Van Bruchem kitchen in that equation. Ewout whipped up and Indonesian feast to fill our stomachs. We were presented with nasi goring (an Indonesian rice dish) served with kebabs, peanut sauce, a fried egg and other condiments. Let’s not forget the Dutch cups and serviettes as well.
Following dinner, despite feeling like a beached whale (“I’m beached as bro” if you know the video), the table was cleared for our Dutch education to continue. Sjoelen is a traditional Dutch shuffle board game where you given 30 small wooden discs to try and shoot through openings at the other end of the board. Each opening is worth between one and four points, however if you are able to get one disc in each opening the points are doubled i.e. 1+2+3+4=10 x2=20. If you get two in each you’ll score 40 points. What tends to happen is that the discs will stack up in front of the openings and you try to hit them through using other discs. If one disc ends up on top of another you get that one back to use again.
In the battle of novice vs. experience the fast learning kiwis were able to jointly take the highest score of 80 after some less than impressive scores in earlier rounds!
The round off the night, I’m sure this was partially for the entertainment of the hosts, we were asked to read a page each from a children’s book. Sounds simple until you realise the books are written in Dutch. The tongue-twisted Coops and I fumbled over the Dutch language as the book was passed around the table, with the Dutch speakers also translating each page into English.
Dutch education complete for what we could squeeze in prior to departure. All that was left was to pack our bags, say many goodbyes and Sjoelen our way towards the unknown of our Odyssey.
Lorenzo
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